


Dark Suited Encounter

by CaptMickey



Category: King's Quest (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Gen, alternate take on a scene, based on the kings quest Floating Castle book
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-02
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:35:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22534087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptMickey/pseuds/CaptMickey
Summary: Alexander always did pride himself at being resourceful... but this particular foe is proving to be a challenge.An alternate take on an encounter in the King's Quest book "Floating Castle"
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	Dark Suited Encounter

Alexander fell hard on his knees, feeling a mixed stirring emotions of anger, determination and exhaustion. He struggled to break free of the Black Knights’ grips, only to feel their metallic fingers digging deeper into his shoulders. If he wasn’t feeling so drained, he probably would have made a snark remark or two.

Probably.

He glanced over at Cyril who looked to appear frozen in fear, probably wishing he stayed in Castle Daventry and truth be told, the prince couldn’t blame him. If it wasn’t for the fact that he was out rescuing his father’s soul, he too would have probably preferred being back home. And yet, he wasn’t given a choice and he was not about to go down without a fight rescuing his father from that fiend. 

The two looked over to the side when the sounds of footsteps entered the room, the occasional clacking sound of the end of the staff hitting the marble floor echoing the chamber. Telgrin strolled into the room, his magical soul-stealing staff in one hand and the other behind his back, looking rather smug with his side-eyed gaze to Alexander’s and Cyril’s direction. Stopping in front of them, he smirked.

“Well, well, well...” The Magician grinned, “If it isn’t His Royal-Thorn-In-My-Side, Alexander of Daventry. A pleasure to find you here in my fantastical and wonderful castle.”

Alexander just glared bitterly at the Magician. 

“What, have nothing to say? Cat’s got your tongue?” Telgrin continued to mock. 

The prince couldn’t help but picture Manannan now turned into a cat and decided against bringing it up in ridicule. Instead, he continued to glare.

“If you have something to say, then now would be a most important time to say it as I don’t believe I’ll give you the opportunity to speak once again for this will be our final meeting.”

Alexander contemplated for a few minutes about whether or not to speak but instead could only think of three simple words. “Are you done?” He snarled, resisting and urge to give a smirk of his own as he caught Telgrin off guard and looking flustered, almost like he ruined his well planned monologue. 

“Am I...” Telgrin growled under his breath what Alexander could only imagine where nasty terms about his person’s. “Never mind! What brings you here to my domain?”

“You know as well as I do.” Alexander didn’t break his gaze from Telgrin. “I’m here to rescue my father and then, while I’m at it, put an end to your reign.”

“Well aren’t you the brave one. Tell me, how do you plan on ending my magnificent and all-powerful reign? Better yet...” The Magician curled his lips into a smile again and pulled out from behind his back an amber orb, one that caused Alexander’s breath to be stuck in his throat. “How do you plan on rescuing your dear father’s soul?” 

The prince’s cockiness was short lived holding it tauntingly at Alexander. As much as he hated to show weakness or confusion... Telgrin got him there. And one quick side-eye glance at Cyril was enough confirmation that the wizard apprentice was thinking the same thing as the prince. Alexander just looked back at Telgrin who looked to be chuckling just slightly. 

“You’re just all talk until a minor thing inconvenience you.” He took a few steps closer, showing no signs of threat as Alexander struggled harder to break out of the Black Knights’ grip once again. 

“Don’t you ever get tired of your nonsensical ramblings?” Alexander spat.

Telgrin glared at the held-down prince, scoffed and turned his back on him. “Your manners, or rather... your lack of manners, irritate me. So allow me to remind me of how powerful I am by breaking your fighting spirit.”

“With what, more monologues?” He didn’t mean to say that out loud, yet he did and a part of him felt good by it.

“No. I think we are done with that.” Telgrin looked over his shoulder and held up the sphere to his eyes, staring at it and catching a glimpse of Graham’s soul before glancing at Alexander.

He really did not like the way he was looking at his father’s soul like that.

With an outstretch hand, Telgrin caused the sphere to slowly levitate away and hover, moving his staff and causing an eerie green glow to gleam off the staff and onto the amber orb. Alexander struggled some more, desperate to stop whatever it was that Telgrin was doing when he noticed that from the ground underneath Graham’s orb, black smoke was forming like a miniature tornado. His voice caught in his throat, he saw it was forming that familiar black metallic sheen of armor and was gradually going up. 

“Stop!” Alexander shouted, irritation growing as Telgrin just smirked at him and continued in his ritual. 

The armor grew gradually more and more until eventually everything up until the helmet was formed. Alexander saw one final look at the orb, one final glance of his father’s face, before finally the dark helmet obscured anything that once resembled Graham from Alexander.

“No!” He shouted as Telgrin’s laughter rung in his ears, his eyes focused exclusively at the armored suit that now contained Graham’s soul. Alexander didn’t even notice Telgrin waving his hand, causing the other knights to let go of both Cyril and himself and stepping away from the two. Quickly, the prince stood up, still staring at the one Black Knight that was staring right back at him. His eyes stung, but he dared not give Telgrin that satisfaction of seeing him looking like this.

“Perhaps now you will understand to not question my powers!” Telgrin cackled, looking at Graham. “One-Who-Was-Graham... destroy the intruders!” As his laugh echoed in the room, he raised his staff and vanished himself and the other knights away, leaving just Alexander, Cyril and the Black Knight containing Graham’s soul.

Alexander felt his heart sink to his gut, his eyes widen in fear as that Black Knight seemed to have hesitated at first before taking its first step. A numbing sensation coursed through Alexander as the knight took another hesitant step forward, all he could wish for was this to be a terrible dream and wake up. Before he knew it, the Black Knight towered over him and lifted its arm up, balling its hand into a fist.

“F...father. It’s me. It’s Alexander!” He desperately called out, only to be tackled over to his side as the Black Knight swung its arm down and broke the marble floor. Feeling the air getting knocked out of him, Alexander looked over and saw it was Cyril who had physically pushed out of harms way, panting.

“You have to move!” The wizard apprentice scolded. 

“N... no. No I-- I can still save him!” Alexander cried out, gasping when the Black Knight’s helmet turned to face him. “He... he has to still be in there. He has to-- I know he’s still in there! I have to try!” He moved to go after but felt a tug at his arm, seeing Cyril holding him back.

“How do you know that?!”

“He’s hesitating!” Alexander didn’t break his gaze from his now opponent. “He’s holding back!”

Cyril looked over, noting that it’s taking that particular Black Knight was a lot slower then the others but shook his head. “Alexander, it’s suicide!” Cyril countered. “We need to think smarter than this!”

He didn’t care. Not now. He pushed Cyril off of him and rushed over to the Black Knight. If he could defeat the one before, he didn’t see why he couldn’t do the same. Alexander rushed as fast as tiring legs allowed him, jumping to the side in the last minute as the One-Who-Was-Graham swung its massive arm once again into a punch, hitting nothing but air. 

Alexander side stepped once more, trying to direct the Black Knight as far away from Cyril as possible, just in case it did turn out that the suit of armor decided to overpower his father’s will. 

“Stop! Please!” Alexander pleaded, jumping once more away from the Black Knight who tried to back hand the prince. Alexander stumbled slightly, feeling his thighs burn from the excessive jumping around. He ducked once more as another fist was flung into his general direction, a part of him was relieved that the suit of armor was not equipped with a sword or worse... a bow and arrow as he knew how dangerously accurate his father was with one.

The two stood across one another, with Alexander panting heavily and the Black Knight not showing any signs of exhaustion.

“Father, I know you’re still in there. Follow my voice.” Alexander desperately called out, trying to show himself as defenseless as possible, stepping slowly closer and closer to the Black Knight whose hand was still tight in a balled-up fist. Carefully, he placed a hand on the Black Knight’s chest. “You have to fight back.” 

It shook, waging an internal war about whether or not swing while Alexander kept his hand on the Black Knight. 

“Just follow my voice...” He spoke gentler, “just--” He felt all the wind getting knocked out of his body as the arm that was no longer balled into a fist, slammed hard into him, his feet lifted from the floor for a brief moment as he found himself flung up into the air before crashing harshly against the marble floor and tumbling for a moment away until he skidded to a stop. Alexander let out a harsh cough, feeling his chest not only forming a rather large bruise but like it was on fire, his back was equally in shocking pain and his head dizzy. Slowly, and through gritted teeth, he pushed himself to sit up right, his vision being disoriented as he saw the Black Knight walking towards him. He glanced over at Cyril who looked to be crying out Alexander’s name but his hearing felt muffled. 

Get up. He mentally scolded himself. Get up or you’ll never be able to save father.

With shaking legs, Alexander stood up, trying to regain any of the lost oxygen in his body as the Black Knight made a beeline towards the prince. He had to think of a plan, he thought. He had to think what to do. Physically fighting him proved to be futile, magic was a long shot with both Cyril and himself combined, and talking seemed to have little to no effect. The only thing he had left to do was... was to outsmart him. 

Right. How was the last knight taken down? He pondered for a moment and looked at the helmet, noting that unlike the other knights, this one didn’t have those eerie green eyes looking at him.

Maybe...

Gripping his own hands into a fist and feeling renewed vigor, Alexander posed himself, ready to dodge as he saw the Black Knight now more easily balled its hands into a fist once again. He had to finish this, there’s only so much his father could do to fight back against Telgrin’s magic. Barely dodging out of the way from the two fists slamming into the floor, Alexander quickly turned himself around before the Black Knight could turn and pushed his entire weight into his feet to break into a run, pressing down to the ground and launching himself onto the Black Knight’s back and holding onto it for dear life.

“Father, please! Just hold...” He tried gripping for the helmet but always found himself trying to retain his grip. It honestly felt like trying to tame the kelpie from earlier.

“Alexander!” Cyril shouted.

“N-not... now!” Alexander shouted through gritted teeth, fighting against the Black Knight’s movement in its attempt to throw the prince off. 

“For the love of-- just look!” 

Turning his head to look, he saw Cyril pointing at himself towards the neck. He wasn’t sure what for until it quickly dawned on him what the young wizard apprentice was getting at. Steadying himself once more, he reached for the weak spot, finding himself slipping every now and again but eventually he managed to grip tightly at the base of the helmet. 

“I’m sorry.” Alexander muttered and yanked harshly at the helmet, finding both it and himself fall over to the floor as the knight stumbled slightly headless, gripping the base of its neck. Alexander sat up, frantic to rush over when he saw it turn to face him. “No... no...” he pushed himself away with each menacing step. Why? Why didn’t it work? Why was this any different? His eyes stung once again and he felt that persistent determination finally faltering once the knight stopped over him and lifted him up high up until to where its eyes would be, unable to find that amber orb. 

He didn’t want to shed any tears. Not here. Not in front of everyone. But his chest felt like it was on fire and he no longer knew if it was because of the bruise that was radiating there or because it felt like his heart was shattering at the notion that he... he failed. And all he wanted was to be held by his father and be told that everything will be alright.

“Please... stop. It’s me.” He whimpered, lifting a shaking and exhausted hand and placed it on the Black Knight’s forearm. “It’s Alexander...”

Alexander winced as he saw a bright glow from within the murky black abyss inside the knight. Squinting, he looked at the light that was trying desperately to glow. “Father?”

It glowed some more. Alexander’s eyes widen. His father WAS responding! Adrenaline kicking up again into full gear, Alexander plunged his hand inside the suit of armor, startling no doubt every single person in the room, himself included. It felt like he was reaching into slimy ink when he finally felt that familiar round sphere and held onto it tightly. 

The prince felt the Black Knight trying to pull away, trying to get Alexander to let go, but he was filled with determination. Letting out a loud and powerful yell, Alexander pulled out the amber sphere and fell to the floor as the suit of armor staggered backwards, trying to retain its form before eventually falling limp and collapsing into a heap of metal to the floor. Alexander panted as he looked to his hand, catching a faint glimpse of his father’s soul who showed an exhausted expression on his face. He didn’t pay any mind as Cyril rushed over him and helped the prince up to his feet.

“I did it.” Alexander smiled, holding the sphere tightly in his hand. His ears perked at the sound of footsteps approaching and quickly looked to Cyril. “I believe that is our cue to leave.”

“I was just about to say.” Cyril nodded, and the two quickly rushed out of the room.


End file.
